Sea bass gather in the waters of Lianyungang
It attracts many fishing enthusiasts
But anglers found out
A group of peculiar fishing people appeared on the surface of the sea
They use a special tool
You can harvest hundreds or even thousands of pounds of sea bass
Whether this is normal fishing or illegal fishing
……
Recently, in the villagers' square of Xiliandao Village, Lianyun District, Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province, the civil public interest lawsuit case incidental to the illegal fishing of aquatic products, including You Mouhua and Tan Mouhua, who was prosecuted by the Lianyun District Procuratorate, was heard in public. In the incidental civil public interest litigation part, the nine defendants were sentenced to jointly and severally compensate more than 410,000 yuan for the restoration of the marine ecological environment.
You Mouhua, Tan Mouhua and nine others illegally fished aquatic products criminal incidental civil public interest lawsuit case open trial scene.
"Special anglers" came to the seaside
In recent years, the waters of Lianyungang, especially the waters near seaweed farms, have abundant plankton, attracting the gathering of sea bass. Because sea bass can be harvested here for more than 10 to 20 catties, this sea area quickly attracted many fishing enthusiasts. However, anglers who like to gather here find a group of peculiar fishing people on the surface of the sea, using a special tool.
"Rows of round baskets float on the surface of the sea, and each basket is tied with dozens or hundreds of fishing line hooks, which is not only fast to catch, but also has a lot of catch. We speculate empirically that they can harvest hundreds or even thousands of pounds of sea bass every day. Uncle Wu, a fisherman who grew up on the seaside, told reporters that the golden period of sea bass fishing is precisely the fishing ban period, and these people's fishing patterns will seriously damage fishery resources.
"We're fishing, so why don't we fish?" These people claim that their fishing methods are not illegal, and even intensify. A number of "fishing teams" are stationed in Lianyungang, working day and night, packing a large number of chilled sea bass and sending them to the aquatic trading markets in Fujian, Zhejiang and other places every day.
Seeing that persuasion was ineffective and repeated prohibitions continued, some anglers with strong legal awareness reported to the Lianyun District Procuratorate.
Is it normal fishing or illegal fishing?
After receiving the report, the prosecutor of the Lianyun District Procuratorate immediately learned the details of the fishermen who had been fishing in this area for a long time, checked the large number of video materials provided by the anglers, and quickly contacted the coast guard, fishery administration and other departments.
The prosecutor further investigated and learned that this fishing tackle is called fixed longline real bait single hook fishing tackle, referred to as "longline fishing", the basic structure is to tie many branch lines on a trunk line, with hooks and bait at the end, and use floating and sinking devices to fish in the corresponding water layer. How to determine the use of such fishing tackle during the fishing ban period, whether it is ordinary fishing or illegal fishing, has always troubled the relevant units.
Seizure of fixed longline real bait single-hook tackle.
Some people believe that this is not ordinary fishing and is illegal fishing, others believe that this fishing tackle is not prohibited by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and Jiangsu Province's summer season fishing moratorium does not explicitly prohibit "longline fishing". Since such fishing methods have never been seen in Lianyungang or even Jiangsu Province, the relevant law enforcement authorities have not found precedents for management and law enforcement reference.
Determining whether "longlining" is fishing or illegal fishing is the key to solving this case!
After in-depth investigation and review of relevant materials, the procurator handling the case held that "longline fishing" is different from rod fishing, which is mainly based on leisure and entertainment, and although it is called "fishing", it is actually fishing, and if it also has the purpose of selling for profit, it should be recognized as a commercial fishing behavior. "The Fisheries Law stipulates that the mainland implements a fishing license system, and these people who use 'longlining' drive ordinary speedboats, do not have a fishing vessel inspection certificate, a fishing vessel registration certificate, and do not have a fishing license, and they carry out longline operations on a large scale and for a long time during the fishing ban period, which is no different from other illegal fishing methods."
Local fisheries officials also believe that when the target fish are larger species such as sea bass, tuna, and eel, the fishing effect of this type of operation is even higher than that of ordinary nets.
The trial took place in a fishing village
During the case-handling period, in order to accurately solve the problems and improve the quality and efficiency of the case, the Lianyun District Procuratorate organized several rounds of discussions, and invited business experts from agricultural departments, public security organs, provincial fisheries research institutes, universities and other departments to participate in the meeting. After discussion, everyone agreed that the above-mentioned "longline" behavior in the waters violated both the national policy of moratorium fishing in the summer season and the relevant fishery laws and regulations, and was an act of illegal fishing under the guise of fishing.
In the end, the Lianyun Branch of the Lianyungang Municipal Public Security Bureau opened a case for investigation against You Mouhua and others on suspicion of illegal fishing of aquatic products, and transferred the case to the Lianyun District Procuratorate for review and prosecution on June 16, 2022.
The procuratorate found that during the fishing moratorium from early May to the end of June 2021, Tan and You Mouhua and nine others drove two speedboats in the waters near Lianyun District and used the "longline" method to fish 24 times, catching more than 8,000 jin of fish and selling more than 260,000 yuan. On October 8, 2022, the court filed a public indictment in the case.
In order to effectively prevent and combat illegal fishing crimes and better popularize the relevant legal knowledge of fishing moratoriums and prohibitions to fishermen, at the suggestion of the Lianyun District Procuratorate, the court recently held a trial to hear the case, and arranged the trial scene in the residence of defendant Tan, that is, Liandao, where the illegal fishing landing pier is located.
The trial attracted hundreds of local fishermen to attend the trial, and at the same time, the court also invited more than 10 people, including deputies to the people's congresses at the municipal and district levels, members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and public welfare representatives. The prosecutor applied for an order to order the nine people involved in the case to bear criminal responsibility and bear the cost of ecological restoration such as the loss of marine fishery resources caused by illegal fishing.
After hearing, the court held that the defendants You Mouhua, Tan Mouhua and nine others violated relevant laws and regulations by illegally fishing aquatic products worth more than 100,000 yuan in the waters near Liandao during the fishing ban period, and the circumstances were serious, all of which constituted the crime of illegal fishing of aquatic products, and should jointly bear civil compensation, so it made the above judgment according to law. After the verdict was pronounced in court, all nine defendants pleaded guilty and pleaded guilty.
(Supreme People's Procuratorate)